Thursday, July 25, 2002
Rogers beats Mariners, may join them
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — A day after turning down a trade to Cincinnati, Kenny Rogers said he still hasn't closed the door on the possibility of going to another team. Rogers pitched eight effective innings as the Texas Rangers posted a rare victory over the Seattle Mariners 4-3 Wednesday night.
“You never know what's going to happen,” he said. “When you pitch well, they want to look at you and add to their chances to go somewhere,” he said.
The Rangers were set to send Rogers to the Reds this week for three minor leaguers, but the left-hander cited family concerns and invoked his no-trade clause.
Rogers admitted that his situation wasn't helping the last-place Rangers, though.
“It is a distraction, without a doubt,” he said. “It's something that doesn't help matters. I'm not trying to hurt anybody here in what they might be trying to accomplish.”
Seattle had shown interest in acquiring Rogers before Texas worked out the deal with Cincinnati. The Rangers were unwilling to pick up any part of Rogers' salary in a deal with the Mariners, who have said they don't want to go over their $90 million payroll.
Rogers was asked about the possibility of pitching in a Mariners' uniform this season.
“It occurred to me tonight, yesterday and the last couple of days,” he said. “They're a playoff-caliber team. Last year they showed how good they can be. You go out and pitch well against them and it opens eyes.”
Rangers manager Jerry Narron said the Mariners weren't the only team with interest in Rogers.
“I think everybody in baseball knows how well he's been pitching this year,” Narron said. “He's added a cutter to go along with his other pitches. He's probably pitching right now the best he has in quite awhile.”
Mariners manager Lou Piniella loves Rogers' experience.
“He knows how to pitch period,” Piniella said. “He's been around for a long time. That's one of the reasons a lot of clubs have been watching Kenny to see if he can add to their starting mix.”
Seattle's Bret Boone compared Rogers to Atlanta's Tom Glavine.
“Take a little off, take a little off, take a little more off,” Boone said. “That is what he does. Just like Tommy Glavine. The same type of thing. He keeps the ball out of the middle of the plate and gets a lot of ground balls.”
Rogers (11-5) won for the second time at Safeco Field in his fourth start against the Mariners this season. He beat them 9-0 with a five-hitter on April 19.
In his four starts against Seattle this season, Rogers is 2-0 with an 1.50 ERA.
Rogers gave up three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits and one walk.
Danny Kolb pitched the ninth for his first major league save.
The Rangers beat the Mariners for the second time in 11 games in 2002. They're 7-24 against Seattle in the past two seasons.
Anaheim beat Oakland 5-1 Wednesday night to cut Seattle's lead to one game in the AL West.
Frank Catalanotto, who was hitting .179 in his previous 15 games, accounted for three of the Rangers' runs. He homered on the second pitch of the game and a two-run single in the fifth inning.
The Rangers made it 2-0 in the third against Freddy Garcia (11-7) on a walk to Kevin Mench, Ruben Rivera's sacrifice and two wild pitches by Garcia while pitching to Catalanotto.
Texas made it 4-0 in the fifth on a single by Herbert Perry, a double by Mench and Catalanotto's ground single into center.
The Mariners scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth. Ruben Sierra singled, went to second on Jeff Cirillo's infield single and scored on third baseman Perry's fielding error on Desi Relaford's grounder.
The Mariners cut Texas' lead to 4-3 in the seventh on a two-run homer by Dan Wilson. Wilson hit his fourth homer of the season after a double by Cirillo.
Garcia had his third consecutive poor start since pitching in the All-Star game in Milwaukee July 9. He is 0-2 with a no-decision and an 8.64 ERA in his last three starts.
In 6 1-3 innings, he gave up four runs on six hits, four walks and three wild pitches, with six strikeouts.
“He's not as sharp as he's been,” Piniella said. “He's throwing a lot of pitches and his changeup is still a little too hard. But what am I going to be concerned about? He is a good pitcher.”
Notes: The Rangers led the majors with 35 homers in July — 24 of them solo. ... Garcia gave up his 18th homer of the season, second on the Mariners to Jamie Moyer's 19. He matched his career high 18 homers allowed in 1999. ... Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki had his second straight multihit game and his major league-leading 46th of the season. He was 2-for-4 and is now hitting .359. ... Kolb's save was the first for the Rangers since the All-Star break. They have three blown saves since then.
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Rogers beats Mariners, may join them 
